Willie Mays and NL CF WAR Fielding Runs 1951-1968

Click the link above to view a matrix with the leaders from baseball-reference.com based on 50% of games in center field (CF) and qualified for BA title. Maybe I should have used more than 50% but I've already run the numbers year by year and don't want to do it again. It produces some anomalies.

Three prior seasons:

In 1948:
Ashburn 4
Lockman 4
Jeffcoat 2

In 1949:
Snider 10
Thomson 8
Ashburn 6

In 1950:
Thomson 8
Ashburn 4
Pafko 4

In addition to 1948 when he was 21 Richie Ashburn of the 1950 NL pennant winning Phillies led NL CF in 1951, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1957. What happened in 1954? Willie Mays got out of the U.S. Army and rejoined his New York Giants; Mays played 34 games in 1952 and none in 1953.

In 1953 Ashburn had 19 Fielding Runs above a replacement CF and 18 in 1954. Mays had 21 in 1954.

In 1955 at age 28 second baseman Eddie Miksis played his only season in CF. He led the NL with 12. Mays was second with 7, then Ashburn and Snider 6. Miksis played 75 games in CF (7 Fielding Runs), 42 RF (3 Fielding Runs), 18 3B (3 Fielding Runs). His Range Factor (RF) per nine innings at 3B (4.18) was considerably higher than in CF (2.59) or RF (2.14). The real question: why did Mays plummet from 21 to 7?

In 1961 Hank Aaron is listed as the CF leader with 23 (Mays third with 14). Aaron played 83 games in CF (9 Fielding Runs) and 78 in his normal right filed (RF) (15 Fielding Runs), plus 2 at 3B. That's 163 in a 154 game season (NL went to 162 in 1962; AL in 1961). So, there must be some overlap. Aaron's play in RF elevated his overall numbers and he happened to barely qualify as a CF. Mays had 14.

There’s a pretty cool matrix. Number one in 2011: Yankee left fielder (LF) Brett Gardner (3.2), a CF playing out of position. Compared to other LF Garner should look a lot better. This introduces another bias: position.